49ers sign Boldin, who supports Harbaugh

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin announced via Twitter on Monday that he has reached a new deal with the San Francisco 49ers. The team later confirmed the deal.

ESPN reported that Boldin agreed to a two-year deal worth $12 million, including $9 million guaranteed.

Boldin also released a statement on his foundation's website.

"49er fans, I wanted to be the first to tell you that I'm returning to San Francisco," the statement read. "Looking forward to joining my teammates, coaching staff and fans to bring back another championship to the Bay Area. Let's go after our Quest For Six."

Boldin, 33, is coming off a season in which he had 85 receptions for 1,179 yards with seven touchdowns.

Boldin will enter his 12th season in the NFL. For his career, he has 857 catches for 11,344 yards with 65 receiving TDs.

Said 49ers general manager Trent Baalke, "We are pleased that Anquan has chosen to continue his career as a 49er. He is a consummate professional whose love and respect for the game provide a tremendous example for all players. Anquan has been a very productive player throughout his career and we look forward to his future contributions to our team and community."

In a conference call after the agreement was announced, Boldin was asked about recent stories claiming that head coach Jim Harbaugh's "act has worn pretty thin" among the players.

Boldin said, "He had a big role in me coming back. You know, he's a guy I had a real good relationship with. Me and him were able to talk about anything. And I just like his demeanor, the way he approaches the game. He's a guy that wants to win. I'm the exact same way. So I think we mesh pretty good. I mean, like I said, he was just good to me the entire year. You know, I think the whole, the entire organization was. Like I said, I was accepted right away. I think they used me in the right way. So me and coach Harbaugh have a pretty good relationship."

He also believes players don't have any issues with Harbaugh.

"I don't think anybody in the locker room, you know, has an issue with coach Harbaugh," Boldin said. "The way our locker room is built, I mean, we have an open-door policy. If anybody has a concern or wants to voice their opinion, I mean, they're more than welcome to. There have been times we have voiced our concerns as players, and coach Harbaugh has listened to us and taken into consideration how we felt as players.

"I don't think there's any rift between players and coaches, particularly coach Harbaugh. Like I said, he has a great rapport with all of the guys that I know of. I heard of no griping in the locker room when it comes to coach Harbaugh."

Boldin's comments also come following reports that the Cleveland Browns made a pitch for Harbaugh when they were searching for a head coach. That prompted speculation that Harbaugh could end up leaving the team after the 2014 season. Harbaugh told si.com there is "zero opportunity or chance of that in my mind."

Harbaugh also addressed persistent talk that he is seeking to become the highest-paid coach in the league, saying, "They presume I covet some kind of extension. I have never said to anybody that I want to be the highest-paid coach in football. I have never said that to anybody - my wife, my brother, my dad. I make plenty of money.

"The other one is that I want more power. I have never said that, nor do I want any more power than I have. I coach the team. I've told my owner I don't want any more power. I want to coach the team. And I've never told anybody else otherwise."

--49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh found time to meet up with his brother John on Wednesday, just one of three times every year he counts on the brief but valuable family session.

Over lunch at Shula's Steakhouse two blocks from Lucas Oil Stadium before the official start to the Scouting Combine, the brothers had a rare shift away from their football-focused lives and schedule before the NFL guides their paths to cross again -- at the NFL league meetings in Florida next month.

Jim Harbaugh agreed that the success of the Seattle Seahawks keeps the 49ers focused and eager to get back to their usual business.

"It's obvious," said Harbaugh. "A-plus-plus."

Pro Bowl quarterback Colin Kaepernick didn't take many breaks since the NFC Championship Game loss at Seattle. The very next day, his car was already at the Santa Clara facility when Harbaugh pulled into the player lot early in the morning.

"He was already there working out. He's down in Florida working out again," Harbaugh said. "I never have any questions about Colin Kaepernick's work ethic and desire to be great. He's already pretty darn good. He'll find a way to get a mile-per-hour faster. That's just the way that he trains. The way that he thinks."

That constant and depth at running back are the foundation of the San Francisco offense. Harbaugh said he isn't questioning what running back Frank Gore might have left. Gore, injured against the Seahawks in January, rushed for 1,178 yards (276 carries) in his 10th season. He turns 31 in May, and the 49ers' healthy stock of running backs might allow San Francisco to go in a new direction.

Keeping the defense sound up the middle might not be as easily accomplished.

All-Pro inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman required reconstructive knee surgery after tearing multiple knee ligaments on a goal-line play in the NFC Championship Game in January. Strong safety Donte Whitner is a free agent and could follow Dashon Goldson out the door. That would leave 2013 rookie Eric Reid to hold down the deep middle in a rising division.

"Just like in baseball, you want to be good up the middle," Harbaugh said. "You want to be built that way on defense. It's the core of your unit, whether defensively or offensively."

Much like Lattimore, who spent the 2013 season rehabbing from two leg injuries in the past three seasons, the 49ers could get a major boost from defensive end Tank Carradine.

"Expectations will be very high. Tank had a procedure done after the season that took out a mass of scar tissue. He wasn't able to straighten out his leg before that. They took that out," Harbaugh said. "He looks like a different guy now since that procedure. Just what we saw when he did practice with our football team, now with this procedure done, I'm even more excited."

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NFL Team Report - San Francisco 49ers - NOTES, QUOTES

--Running back Marcus Lattimore is close to 100 percent after recovering from a knee injury suffered during his senior season at South Carolina. Lattimore was selected in the fourth round of last year's draft, even though the 49ers knew he would likely miss the entire season.

Lattimore said, "The left knee, it feels like nothing ever happened. The right knee, it feels great. Both feel balanced. I've got my speed and I rarely get any soreness."

He is anxiously awaiting the beginning of official offseason conditioning on April 21.

"I can't go out there and be Superman the first day," he said. "Once I get back in the groove and take a few hits, I'll be OK."

--Amid speculation that contract talks have begun with wide receiver Anquan Boldin, general manager Trent Baalke said Friday, "We're just getting into that. We've always maintained that our No. 1 objective in the offseason is to take care of our own guys - to identify the guys we feel we need on our football team moving forward and then find a way to make it work and make it fit from a financial standpoint. It's no different this season."

Baalke was asked about replacing linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who is expected to miss some time after suffering a torn ACL in the playoffs.

He said, "Michael Wilhoite and Nick Moody are both on the football team and both have done a nice job. Nick, obviously, is a young guy, still developing at the linebacker position. And Michael Wilhoite is a guy who has stepped in and played well when called upon. We're going to address that. We're going to take a hard look to see if we need to infuse a little more competition into that position and the No. 1 thing regarding NaVorro is making sure he's 100 percent before we bring him back.

"He's not an individual - nor is any individual on our football team - that we want to rush back into action. When he's ready to go, he's ready to go. And if that's mid-season or middle-to-late part of the season, whenever that is, that's when we're bringing him back to the field."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Have you ever read the book, 'Blink'? Keep it simple. The first time you look at a player, you're usually right. Your gut is usually right. Through the process, you gather more and more information and you watch more and more film. And sometimes the process is so long and it's drawn out another two weeks that you end up talking yourself out of that first impression. So I always go back to the book 'Blink.' And if you've read it, you understand where I'm coming from. And if you haven't, you should. It's a great book." - GM Trent Baalke on how to avoid being overwhelmed with an information draft overload.

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NFL Team Report - San Francisco 49ers - STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

The 49ers signed guard/center Daniel Kilgore to a three-year contract extension through the 2017 season.

"We are pleased to extend the contract of a talented, young player like Dan," general manager Trent Baalke said in a statement. "This move is another example of our philosophy to extend the contracts of our own young players."

Originally selected by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, the 26-year-old Kilgore (6-foot-3, 308 pounds) has appeared in 33 regular-season games during his three-year career, including all 16 regular-season games and all three postseason contests in 2013.

--Preparing for the March 11 beginning of the league year, the 49ers adjusted the contract of safety Craig Dahl to save $600,000 in cap space.

Dahl's base salary was reduced and part of it guaranteed. In addition, game related bonuses were added to the contract.